…Naira depreciated by 0.16% to N1,538.68
The market extended its decline today, albeit at a slower pace, as the NGX All-Share Index (NGXASI) edged down by 7 basis points to 106,090.38 points from its previous level of 106,167.75 points, reflecting sustained cautious sentiment among investors.
The market’s bearish sentiment was driven by sell-offs in major stocks, including FCMB (-3.03%), OANDO 1.95%), NB (-0.32%), ACCESSCORP (-0.21%), HONYFLOUR (-0.08%), and 27 other decliners.
Consequently, the Year-to-Date (YTD) settled at 3.07%, while the overall market capitalization decreased by 0.07% to N66.45 trillion, subtracting N48.45 billion from investors’ wealth.
Sectoral performance was largely bearish, with three of the five tracked indices closing in the red, while one posted gains and the other remained unchanged. The Oil & Gas index (-0.56%) led the decliners, pressured by sell-offs in CONOIL (- 10%) and OANDO (-1.95%). This was followed by the Consumer Goods (-0.23%) and Insurance (-0.22%) indices, weighed down by losses in DANG-SUGAR (-3.00%), NB (-0.32%), SOVRENINS (-5.66%) and AllCO (-3.03%). On the upside, the Banking index gained 0.25%, driven by an uptick in ZENITHBANK (+0.53%), while the Industrial index closed flat.
MARKET ACTIVITY: Market activity was positive as both traded volume and value increased by 361.77% and 29.57% to 1.50 billion units and 10.30 billion, respectively.
MARKET BREADTH: The market breadth, which measures investor sentiment through the Gainers/Losers ratio decreased to 0.59x from 0.74x as 19 stocks appreciated, 32 stocks depreciated and 76 stocks closed flat.
SYSTEM LIQUIDITY: System liquidity increased to N685.59 billion on Wednesday, up from N496.30 billion on Tuesday.
FIXED INCOME MARKET: The fixed-income market traded flat, with the average Treasury bill yield steady at 18.90% and bond yields closing unchanged at 18.40%, indicating subdued investor sentiment.
CURRENCY MARKET: The Naira depreciated by 0.16% to close at N1,538.68
